Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Wells Fargo & Company Call Options (NYSE:WFC)

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) saw unusually large options trading on Monday. Stock traders bought 93,652 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 84% compared to the average volume of 50,927 call options.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Down 3.9%

Shares of NYSE:WFC traded down $3.11 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $77.31. The company had a trading volume of 11,216,233 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,930,289. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $89.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $86.66. The firm has a market cap of $238.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.08. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1-year low of $58.42 and a 1-year high of $97.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.10. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 17.27% and a return on equity of 12.90%. The company had revenue of $21.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.63 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.43 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 6th were paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Kleber Santos sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.72, for a total value of $2,193,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 79,876 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,006,722.72. This represents a 23.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Ellen R. Patterson sold 60,000 shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.40, for a total value of $5,244,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 169,496 shares in the company, valued at $14,813,950.40. This represents a 26.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 115,000 shares of company stock worth $10,050,000 over the last quarter. 0.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Wells Fargo & Company

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,656,000. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the third quarter worth about $147,165,000. Guerra Advisors Inc lifted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 43.2% during the third quarter. Guerra Advisors Inc now owns 38,439 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,222,000 after purchasing an additional 11,594 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 1,121.0% during the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 24,079 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,018,000 after purchasing an additional 22,107 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 52.7% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 138,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,639,000 after buying an additional 47,946 shares in the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WFC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $109.00 price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Friday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. CICC Research started coverage on Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $96.00 target price for the company. Finally, HSBC reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $74.00 target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $97.03.

About Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company is a diversified, U.S.-based financial services company headquartered in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1852 by Henry Wells and William G. Fargo, the firm has evolved from its origins in express delivery and pioneer-era banking into one of the largest full-service banks in the United States. The company provides a broad range of financial products and services to individual, small business, commercial, and institutional clients. Charles W. Scharf serves as chief executive officer.

Wells Fargo operates across several core business segments, including consumer banking and lending, commercial banking, corporate and investment banking, and wealth and investment management.